Athena and Ponyboy, Sittin' in a Tree
by redxcliches
Summary: UPDATED! CHAPTER SIX! This is about the frendship between Ponyboy and girl named Athena. Will it be more than a friendship though? Rated 'PG' for a lil romance and some mild language.
1. The Day Begins

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters except Athena and Rosaline. S.E. Hinton owns all of the other characters.  
  
This is a little story about a girl living with the Greasers in Tulsa. Who knows, A little romance might emerge between Ponyboy and Athena.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Hey Pony! Get up! It's time to train", I yelled over the morning traffic. Ponyboy and me were going out for track together and there was no way that I was going to be the worst on the team.  
  
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." he moaned out the window. Ponyboy wasn't the typical morning person but sometimes he could surprise you.  
  
"Well, are you ready to run? I was thinking about doing two miles today." I said as I swept my long brown, wavy hair up on my head. I hated it when it got in the way while I was exercising.  
  
"Sure, sounds good", he replied back. "But then we have to get some of that chocolate ice-cream at your house. I think it's about 85 already"  
  
We then started to run. I loved feeling the wind in my face. It always reminded me of the beach. The sea spray blowing onto my body always made me feel good. And if I tried really hard, I could almost smell the salt.  
  
"I think we're coming to the halfway point. Maybe we should rest. But only if you want to" said Ponyboy.  
  
"Nah, I think I can push it a little more. I'll race you back to my house though!" said I. I started sprinting towards home. But Pony was catching up really fast. He was always a better runner than me.  
  
I felt a rock slam into the back of my head. I then tripped onto the pavement feeling a jab of pain as my ankle twisted round. The sound of a car full of laughing guys whizzed past me.  
  
"Ah, shit!" I yelled in my loud voice. I could still feel my ankle throbbing on top of the blood coming from my head.  
  
"Oh god, are you okay. No, you're definitely not. I better get you home." Said Pony worriedly.  
  
I felt my body rise up as he hooked his arm under my shoulders. Feeling off balance, I quickly grabbed onto his arm. We were able to get home in about an hour.  
  
"Here, just stay on the couch and I'll get you some ice and something to wash up that cut." Said Ponyboy as he rested me on the couch.  
  
I held my hand up to my head, making sure that no blood got on the couch. It was the only one me and my 19-year-old sister Rosaline could afford. We just moved in about a year ago when my sister came of age and the foster homes wouldn't accept us anymore.  
  
I rubbed my eyes, still feeling the dust of the pavement. I've always liked my eyes. They were such a deep brown color that they almost looked black. But if you looked really closely, you could see my pupils.  
  
"Here's the ice." Said Ponyboy as he re entered the room. "And I got a towel for your head."  
  
"Thanks" I replied.  
  
"Oh, wow. Your foots really swollen. Here, let me raise your leg up" he said.  
  
A shiver went up my spine as he put his warm hands upon my calf. Wait! No! Ponyboy's my friend. We don't like each other like that.  
  
"There, that's better now, isn't it?" he said as he placed the bag of ice upon my ankle. "You're going to have to wait for that cut to heal a little before washing your hair. And don't grease it!"  
  
"Don't worry, I won't" I replied. "Don't you remember, I'm a good little girl." I said in a singsong voice.  
  
Ponyboy snorted.  
  
"You? A good girl? I would think not. I'm a good 'little' boy though. And I still have higher grades than you." Ponyboy said jokingly.  
  
"Yeah, well what about Art? I'm still the only person to get 100's throughout all my life." Said I.  
  
"You're correct on that." He said. "Well, I better get back home now. Darry will wonder where I am. I'll come back later though"  
  
With a quick squeeze of my hand, he dashed out of the door. But I could feel my cheeks warming after he grabbed my hand.  
  
Did I really have a crush on Ponyboy?  
  
Thinking about my ankle again, I moaned with grief and fell back on the couch to take a long nap.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
I'm finished for today. Just got back from another softball practice so I'm a little worn out. Please review so my story can get better. 


	2. Bacon

"Oh, Athena! You're okay! I was so worried about you!"  
  
I was immediately jolted out of my sleep into a huge bear hug from my sister Rosaline. Her raven black hair got stuck in my mouth.  
  
"Aghh! You're choking me with that hair of yours!" I yelled.  
  
"I was so worried! Pony told Darry and he's been here for hours waiting for you to wake up. Are you sure your okay?" Rosaline said in a rushed voice.  
  
"She won't be if you don't stop nagging her." I heard Darry say from the corner.  
  
As I looked around I could see Ponyboy on the rug, sleeping bag and all. He always looked so cute when he slept. Watching TV was Soda, who was completely tuned out of the whole conversation.  
  
"I just want to get one thing straight," started Darry. "Who did this to you?"  
  
"Well, they were driving in a blue Mercedes. And one of them looked familiar. I think it was one of the guys who jumped Johnny and Pony in the park that night." I replied.  
  
This immediately grabbed Soda's attention.  
  
"Him? He did this to you? Ohh, this is going to be real payback now. Nobody messes with Athena without hearing from me" said Soda.  
  
Soda and Darry were like my big brothers. They always look out for me and make sure I'm being good. I don't know what I would do without them.  
  
"Well, we can discuss this later. Roz is coming with Soda, and me okay? You can stay here with Pony. I think he's crashed for the night though." Spoke Darry.  
  
"Be good, okay?" said Rosaline. "I'll be back around 1 or something"  
  
"Adios" I muttered as they shut the door. They're always going to the movies and out together and they never include me. I always feel so inferior to them. Well, Roz does fancy Soda but he's always considered her as a sister, never potential girlfriend material.  
  
I then watched Pony sleep. He looked so peaceful. I didn't want to wake him so I tiptoed to the kitchen and silently prepared myself a late dinner. I could soon hear the bacon sizzling in the frying pan and not a second later, Pony walked in, rubbing his eyes.  
  
"Mmm, I smell bacon." He said. "Got enough for the both of us? I'm starving"  
  
"Yeah, just hold on a second." I slapped some more pieces onto the pan and set the cooked ones on the table.  
  
We then began to eat the bacon in silence. It's weird bacon; some days I like it chewy, other days crunchy. It depends on my mood. I think I was suffering from stupidity a the moment because I was thinking about bacon.  
  
Ponyboy broke the silence.  
  
"Athena, I just want to say that I'm really sorry about what happened today."  
  
"But why are you apologizing to me? You never did anything wrong." I stated.  
  
"Well, they were the same guys that jumped Johnny and me that day in the park, so I'm blaming myself. They've had a grudge against me since the day I met 'em."  
  
"I still can't let you apologize to me. It's not your fault. Hmmm... then again, I could be all your fault." I teased.  
  
"Haha, very funny." Pony replied with more cheer in his voice. Then he looked down at the last piece of bacon.  
  
As he grabbed it, so did I. Our fingers touched. As I let go blushingly, he grabbed my hand and caressed my scabs. I looked into his face, and he did the same. Our lips were inching closer and closer to each other. I could see deep into his eyes now.  
  
Bang! The door slammed open and we jumped back into our seats immediately.  
  
"HEY! ANYBODY HOME?" yelled Two Bit through the door. Grudgingly, I walked to the door to greet our interrupter.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Yes, I can hear all of you readers yelling at me right now, "Why didn't they kiss?!?!" Don't worry, I'm just waiting for the right time. Maybe next chapter... Review please!! 


	3. Drawing

Drawing  
  
"Hey Two-Bit" I mumbled "What brings you here at this ghastly hour?" I loved to tease him by pretending to be a British Royal. It was our little inside joke.  
  
"Can't joke around right now Athena. This is really important." He said. "Where's Ponyboy?"  
  
"I'm here" Pony answered walking from the kitchen. "What do you need?"  
  
"Well, to make a really long story short, there was a fight between Darry and that guy who assaulted you at the movies. Darry's fine but he wants you to stay here for the rest of the night. Just for you to be safe." Two bit replied hastily.  
  
"I have to go now anyway. Just you two stay here. We'll explain everything tomorrow"  
  
Two bit then walked to the dorr and slammed it behind him.  
  
"Umm... okay." I said to the door. That was really odd. Why would Darry trust a boy and a girl in a house all by themselves for a night? Was this a test of his or something? No, he wouldn't joke around.  
  
"Well, I'm going to change in my room real quick. We can sleep down here tonight" I said to Pony.  
  
I started up the stairs. It was really hard with my ankle and all. I was usually a tough person. I sprained my ankle many times before and just kept quiet. I always thought nobody would really care. Obviously, I was proven wrong.  
  
"Here, let me help you." Pony insisted. He then went through all the trouble to carry me up the stairs. It felt really weird, you know? This was the kind of stuff couples would do for each other.  
  
When Pony let me down, I walked across the hall into my room.  
  
My room was so different from my sisters. She Painted hers a fiery red while I stayed for a steely blue-green. Like a morning mist color. All of my furniture was old hand-me-downs from my mom. Around the room were large logs with knick-knacks upon them. I guess you could say I was into the whole earthy theme.  
  
I went over to my dresser and pulled out my grey baggy pants and a beater. After I put them on, Pony poked his head through the door. His shirt was off.  
  
"Umm... hey, Athena. Do you have an extra shirt of any sort?" he said. As he was doing this, he stepped entirely into my room. He never saw it before.  
  
"Wow! You did this all by yourself?" he asked. "It's like I stepped into a forest in the morning or something!"  
  
"Yeah, I really enjoy it too. The furniture was my moms and I mixed the paint for hours until I could get the right color." I replied. "By the way, here's your shirt."  
  
"Oh, thanks." He said as he hastily put it on. He then began to walk around my room, looking at my sketches.  
  
"These are amazing. I wish I could draw like you" Pony said in awe.  
  
"I could teach you." I offered. "Your first lesson could start now." I then grabbed my sketchbook and my pencils from the dresser and sat upon my bed.  
  
"See, it's not that hard if you look at it in little pieces instead of the whole picture. You can start by learning to shade."  
  
Pony then came over and sat next to me on the bed. A tingle ran up my spine. I never really sat close to a boy before. Let alone on my bed.  
  
I went on teaching Pony all of my tips in a really quick lesson. It only took about fifteen minutes tops.  
  
"Thanks for teaching me" he said as he finished his 3D sketch. "Why don't you become an art teacher? You'd be really good at it."  
  
"Yeah, I guess I could try it. But I am interested in writing too." I said as I hopped off the bed.  
  
As Ponyboy got off the bed, he grabbed my hand and spun me around so I was facing him. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek as he whispered into my ear.  
  
"No matter what you do, I'll always like you" he whispered.  
  
I tried to reply back but it would be impossible now.  
  
That's because his lips were on mine in a deep kiss...  
  
I hope you liked this chapter. And nobody interrupted! Yay! I'm really sorry for not updating in awhile for you readers. It's been a busy week. Tell me what you think and PLEASE review! 


	4. Flashback

Chapter 4: Flashback  
  
I'm sorry for not putting up any new chapters soon enough! It's been really hectic in my life with finals and all.   
  
I never knew that Ponyboy thought of me in a "romantic" sort of way. Kind of weird, huh? He's been my best friend for about a year now.  
  
"Umm... I think we should go back downstairs now," I suggested.  
  
I then started out the door and down the stairs, limping all the way. Pony trailed behind me.  
  
As he got into his sleeping bag on the floor, I collapsed onto the couch. Pony almost immediately went to sleep while I drifted off into the infamous La-La Land.  
  
It was my first real kiss. Yeah, sure, there was that one time at Christmas where Curly Shepard gave me a little peck under the mistletoe, but it was really disgusting. He was drunk and smelled like stale grape Dubble-Bubble. How nasty!  
  
As I drifted off into sleep, I remembered the first day Pony and I actually met...  
  
Cue bubbly music and sound effects  
  
Flashback  
  
I was carrying my huge pile of books over to my favorite chair in the back by the floor to ceiling window. It was always really nice to watch the birds. I had all of my classics like To Kill a Mockingbird, The House of the Seven Gables, and one of my favorites, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  
  
The only problem was that I couldn't actually see where I was going.  
  
Wham! All of my books fell to the floor as a boy with long, brownish red hair ran straight into me. It was obvious that he wasn't paying attention either. I began to pick up my books, a little pissed off.  
  
"Oh, I'm really sorry." The boy said blushing. He then assisted me in picking up my books.  
  
"Wow! You're reading Gone With the Wind? That's one of my favorites," he said.  
  
"Yeah, it's one of my favorites too, but I really love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. The plot's really good." I replied  
  
"Never heard of it." He said. "By the way, the names Ponyboy Curtis."  
  
He then stuck out his hand and I shook it heartily.  
  
"That's an interesting name you have," I stated "but I like it."  
  
"Ah, it grows on you. My brother's name is Soda pop, so I guess you could say my mom has a knack for peculiar names." "Well, enough about me, what do they call you?"  
  
"Oh, I'm Athena. Athena Olympus." I said.  
  
I always thought my name was odd. Atone point in her life, she went through this crazed Mythology and Legends phase. Lucky for me, I was born then.  
  
"Athena?" Ponyboy questioned. "As in the goddess of wisdom on Mount Olympus?"  
  
"Yup. And her little owl too." I said giggling. I then checked my watch.  
  
"Man, I gotta go, my sister Rosaline is going to scalp me!" I said while rushing to the lobby door. "Nice meeting you Pony."  
  
"Yeah, you too." He replied.  
  
As I walked out the door into the overcrowded lobby, I risked one last glance back at Ponyboy. Apparently, his eyes were following me out the door. I quickly turned my head, blushing.  
  
The entire walk home, I smiled and hoped I would see him again.  
  
Hope y'all liked it enough!!! 


	5. Don't Have A Name

**Don't have a name for this chapter**

"Get up, get up, get up!" is what I could hear early the next morning. Somebody was shaking me and finally the covers were ripped off.

"My god! What the hell?" I yelled.

I could see Soda and Rosaline laughing at me for my reaction. It's completely normal for someone to go nuts after being woken up, right?

"So, when did you guys get here?" I asked Darry. He was sitting in "The Chair" and watching something on the TV. To my horror, it was Mickey Mouse. I just didn't get cartoons.

"Around twelve I guess. Didn't bother to check the time," he said.

"And anyway, we didn't want to bother you two." Soda put in.

"What?" Ponyboy overheard Soda through the kitchen and came in with a piece of chocolate cake. Another thing I don't like. For some reason, cake always made me feel not too hot.

"Oh, never mind." Said Soda. "But here's something else. We found your little "Mustang" friends and had a little talk with them."

"What did you do?" I asked grimly.

"Nothing physical, if that's what you're wondering." Darry said. "Enough talk. Some kids need to get to a place called school right now."

Rosaline walked up the stairs with me to my room. After shutting the door behind her, she started to pop questions.

"So, did you kiss?" she asked me while I was shuffling through my drawers.

"No... well, yes. Okay, there's your answer. Now can you get out? I have to change."

"If you ever want to talk to me about anything, I'll always be here."

"Thanks."

I chose a pair of jeans with a red tee shirt and plaited my hair. After doing a little check in the mirror, I brushed my teeth and rushed out the door with Pony.

We were pretty silent during the whole walk. We usually can never shut up. After a quick "See you", he walked down the 11 hallway and I walked down the 10. I still couldn't believe that he got in a higher grade than me. Well, I am the only underclassman to ever get into Independent Studio Art. And I'm in his English Lit class. But I guess it's the Biology grade that's keeping me out.

"Athena!" was how my friend Cora greeted me.

"You won't believe it. There's this gorgeous senior guy and I dropped my books on the stairs and he picked them up for me. I'm calling him Butch now. Just as a nickname."

After chatting with Cora for a while I grabbed my Geometry book and headed to class.

Yeah, I know it was a pretty stinky and short chapter. But I want people who read this to tell me what they would like to happen in this story. So bring on the flames.


	6. English Lit, Art, and After School Activ...

**English Lit, Art, and After School Activities**

After a really quick lunch and finishing my homework just I time, I headed up to the second floor for English Lit. It was the only class Ponyboy and I were in together.

After weaving my way through a crowd of perky freshman hitting on senior guys, I finally made it to class. With a glance to the near back of the classroom, I spotted Pony and sat next to him. He was sitting in his seat reading "1984" by George Orwell. It was one of my favorite books of all time. It was so easy for the party to manipulate the people of Oceania.

"Hey 'thena." He said with a quick smile to me. We weren't allowed to talk in class and our teacher was really serious about it. A few months ago, Ruby Peterson laughed at a joke her friend made and was 'sentenced' to a week of detention.

This came to a problem to me. I wanted to talk to Pony about last night but I haven't been able to with all of our mixed schedules and all.

After doing another long essay on why War is Peace, I was finally able to leave and head to my last and most favorite class of them all. Independent Studio Art.

The art teacher, Ms. Rossi, was a really free-spirited person. She had a record player in the room and we're able to bring our own records to listen to. And she never has anything against our music like most adults do. She sometimes dances around the room.

"So Athena, when do you think you'll be done with your project?" she asked me. The bangles on her wrists jangled as she moved towards me.

"Well, could you give me some more time? It's just not finished yet." I said to her.

"Sure, just make sure you get it done! It has to be ready for the big show." She reminded me.

After a quick nod, I walked to my stationed area in the room. I really loved my project. I bought some old and used books and I've been cutting out the people's eyes. Then after I paint them a certain way, I would seal them onto this big wood board. It was almost done. I just had to get the last word in.

"Hey goddess, how are ya? I heard from an oh so familiar voice behind me. I turned around to see my sister Rosaline behind me.

"Roz! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working? Is something wrong" I asked her anxiously. She burst out laughing.

"What's this, twenty-one questions? I had to do a demonstration for that Gourmet class. Didn't you know?"

"Oh yeah! Sorry, I must've forgotten." I said to her. I was always forgetting things. That's why I've always been making organizers for myself. But then I would forget to write in them!

"Well, I just wanted to drop by and say hello. I got to get back to Georgina's now. See ya." She said with a wave to me. Georgina's is this gourmet resturaunt that specializes in desserts. Sometime's she brings home some of the food. Believe me, it tastes better than heaven.

With a wave to her back, I continued to work on my project till the bell rang. And after gathering my things out of my locker, I waited out on the front steps for Pony as always. With the thought of last night still lingering in my mind, I broke the silence on the walk back.

"Pony, I want to talk to you about last night." I said to him nervously. I was always so bad at introducing the subject.

Pony and I began to walk through the park. After sitting on the bench, he sat next to me.

"I understand if you don't like me in that way, but I do. And even though-."

"No, Athena. I do love you, okay? And I do want to be with you. It's just I'm nervous about the whole Darry thing, you know? He'd kill me if I did anything wrong."

"Me too." I said. "But I'm willing to take a chance." I took my hand in his and kissed him. And there we were, sitting in the park, kissing for all the world to see.

Hope everybody loved it! Please review!


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